Welcome to Grace

My name is Peg Harvey-Marose. I am the pastor of Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church in Lewiston, Idaho. I have served here for over 12 years. For me the name Grace has great significance and it is one of the reasons I love serving God with the people of Grace.

One thing you should know about me is that I was not raised in the Lutheran church. I joined the Lutheran church for a very specific reason. Let me explain.

Where I grew up, I hand never heard of grace. I had been told on a regular basis that I was a sinner and was going to burn in the pits of hell. When I was in 5th grade, my best friend at the time had been told by her Sunday school teacher that anyone who was not a member of their church was going to hell and that she should not associate with people outside of the church. The next time we got together to play with some other friends, she informed us that she was not going to play with us any more because we were going to hell. I left that day having lost a friend and having a very uncomfortable feeling about the church.

I had always had a relationship with God. As a child, I had experienced God’s power and love in some very real ways. Being told by “the church” in whatever form that I was going to hell just didn’t fit with my experience.

When I went to college, a friend of mine introduced me to Lutheran Campus Ministry. The very first time I attended an event there, I knew I had found a home. At some point in that first year, I came across a pamphlet about Luther’s teaching on grace. Grace is unmerited love given to all by the God who created us and loves us unconditionally. I was shocked. I had never heard anything like this before. I turned to our campus minister and said, “I want some of this!” I have been a Lutheran ever since.

God’s grace is not just for the chosen few. God’s grace, God’s love, is for everyone. Whether you are in the church or outside the church, God loves you. Whether you had made good decisions or bad decisions in your life, God loves you. That’s what Jesus is all about. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” John 3:16-17

Remember, in all times and all places, God loves you!

Blessings,

Pastor Peg